THUNDER BAY – Teams from Thunder Bay and Greenstone arrived back in Northwestern Ontario after meetings with Cliff’s Natural Resouces this week. They were happy with the results of their meetings with Cliffs. However it appears perhaps that enthusiasm might have been premature. The Mayor and Chief, along with representatives from the City and the CEDC, flew to Cleveland on Tuesday to present a business case and strategic advantages for locating the ferrochrome processing facility in Thunder Bay.
Cliff’s Natural Resources has issued an update on The Ring of Fire. That October Update states that the Ferrochrome Production Facility will be in Sudbury.
“Refining the concentrate will occur at the Ferrochrome Production Facility located for the Base Case on privately owned lands near Capreol within a rural area of the City of Greater Sudbury. The size of the site will be approximately 1.5 km by 1 km. The site is currently designated as “Rural”, allowing a variety of land uses, especially those that provide rural economic benefits that are balanced with protection of the natural environment and the agricultural resource base”.
“Infrastructure and services will be required to support construction and operation of the Ferrochrome Production Facility. It is estimated that 350-450 people will work at the site during construction and 350-450 during operations. These workers will commute daily to the site from the surrounding area. The availability of skilled labour is a significant consideration in selecting the location of the Ferrochrome Production Facility. The principal infrastructure and services include:
• Road access to the site will be from Regional Road 84, which currently connects the site with Highway 545 and Capreol, approximately 20 km distant. The paved two-lane road ends at the site and will be upgraded as
necessary.
• Rail access to the site will be by reinstating the former rail line and siding from the CN mainline to the site. The rail bed still exists and is used as a haul road by the current site operator. Proximity and connection with the CN transcontinental rail line is an important consideration in the selection of a site for the Ferrochrome Production Facility.
• Electrical power will be provided to the site by constructing a new 230 kV power line parallel to existing 500 kV and 44 kV power lines. The 500 kV line runs north for approximately 14 km from the Hanmer Transformer Station. The 44 kV line runs northwest for approximately 10 km from the larger line directly towards the site. The new line will be constructed within the existing rights-of-way to the extent possible”.